NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Cooperation in Conservation Protects 720 Acres of Working Forests and Wildlife Habitat in Northern Idaho
Three northern Idaho families have partnered with the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), the U.S. Forest Service and The Vital Ground Foundation to protect their properties from future development. Conservation easements covering 720 contiguous acres of private property have been secured by the Idaho Department of Lands through the USDA Forest Service, Forest Legacy Program. Elk Meadows Farm, owned by Greg and Alicia Johnson, and Bane Creek Ranch, owned by Sam and Carolyn Testa, produce timber and alfalfa hay. Tom and Mary Mackey live on their 155 acre farm where they harvest timber, grow alfalfa hay and operate a small nursery.Together, these properties serve multiple economic, scenic and wildlife benefits. Through sustainable timber management, these working forests have provided over 1 million board feet of timber in the past 5 years. Steady supplies of privately owned timber help to provide jobs and revenue that the local community depends on. Located in a natural migration corridor between the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak ecosystems, these properties provide several big game species with vital winter habitat. Grizzly bears, a federally threatened species, and the recently delisted gray wolves, use this migratory corridor as well. Mr. Testa recognizes his property for the significant wildlife values it provides, stating "the greatest threat to wildlife is loss of habitat; large undeveloped tracts of their winter range in the valleys and benches are vital for their survival. This conservation easement will give the animals a safe haven forever."
"The Forest Legacy program has provided our family with a once in a lifetime opportunity to forever protect our land for wildlife while allowing us to continue to earn a living from the timber and agricultural resources the land produces," say Alicia and Greg Johnson.
"This has been an inspiring example of collaboration that has accomplished so much" says Karen Sjoquist, IDL Forest Legacy Administrator. "The landowners are able to keep their properties intact, maintain important wildlife habitat, and sustainably manage these lands in perpetuity to ensure the continued supply of forest products that this rural economy depends on."
The project was sponsored by The Vital Ground Foundation, a non-profit land trust organization in Missoula, MT. The Bane Creek Neighbors conservation easements help fulfill the mission of The Vital Ground Foundation: to protect and restore North America's grizzly bear populations by conserving wildlife habitat for future generations.
"Vital Ground enthusiastically participates in Forest Legacy Program projects in both Idaho and Montana because the program benefits stakeholders ranging from individual landowners and businesses within their local communities to wildlife enthusiasts across the nation," says Ryan Lutey, Vital Ground's Director of Lands. "By protecting productive forestlands from inappropriate subdivision and development, the program prevents key wildlife habitat from disappearing entirely, and helps reduce the potential for wildlife to come into conflict with people."
For more information about the Vital Ground Foundation visit: www.vitalground.org
About the Forest Legacy Program
The Forest Legacy Program, a USDA Forest Service program administered in partnership with state governments, supports state efforts to protect privately-owned, environmentally important forests. To maximize public benefits, the program focuses on the acquisition of partial interests in privately owned forestlands to keep working forests working.
For more information about the USDA Forest Legacy Program visit: www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop
For more information Idaho's Forest Legacy Program visit: www.idl.idaho.gov
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Media
Contacts
Karen Sjoquist, State of Idaho, Department of Lands, 208-769-1525.
Ryan Lutey, The Vital Ground
Foundation, 406-549-8650.
To view the PDF version of this news release click here .